Biometric Security

Definition - What does Biometric Security mean?

Biometric security is a security mechanism used to authenticate and provide access to a facility or system based on the automatic and instant verification of an individual's physical characteristics. Because biometric security evaluates an individual’s bodily elements or biological data, it is the strongest and most foolproof physical security technique used for identity verification.

Techopedia explains Biometric Security

Biometric security is mainly implemented in environments with critical physical security requirements or that are highly prone to identity theft. Biometric security-based systems or engines store human body characteristics that do not change over an individual's lifetime. These include fingerprints, eye texture, voice, hand patterns and facial recognition.

An individual's body characteristics are pre-stored in a biometric security system or scanner, which may be accessed by authorized personnel. When an individual walks into a facility or tries to gain access to a system, the biometric scanner evaluates his/her physical characteristics, which are matched with stored records. If a match is located, the individual is granted access.